Violent reactions: Police van comes under attack, two killed

Second attack since February last year when police commandos were targeted

KARACHI:

A police van carrying commandos from the Special Security Unit (SSU) came under attack on Friday morning. The attack claimed the lives of two police commandoes and wounded 15 others, and two passersby.

The deceased policemen have been identified as Saddam Karim Buksh and Chandar Talwar Raj. The bus, carrying nearly 50 SSU commandos, was on its way to Bilawal House where the commandos are deployed for security duty. It came under attack at around 7:50am when a powerful bomb exploded as the bus reached the Murghi Khana bus stop on National Highway, adjacent to Shah Latif Colony.

A large number of police and Rangers immediately reached the site along with ambulances from welfare organisations. The victims were rushed to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

"The two commandos were brought dead," confirmed Dr Seemin Jamali, the hospital's joint executive director. "A total of 15 commandos and two passersby were injured when they were brought in."

Dr Jamali told The Express Tribune that the victims had multiple pellet injuries. After treatment, 14 commandos and the two civilians were released, she added. A police commando was critically injured and was moved to a private facility for further treatment, she said.

Later, Sindh IG Ghulam Hyder Jamali and Karachi AIG Ghulam Qadir Thebo paid a visit to the victims at the hospital. "It is revenge for the Karachi operation," said Thebo, speaking to the media after the visit. "Our [Karachi police] morale is high and we will not step back. We are ready to sacrifice our lives to bring the peace in a city."

The injured commandos said that the blast hit the van from the left side. "It was our regular route. Most of the injured men were those who were sitting on the left side of the van," said one of the injured commandos. "We will keep our mission up against the terrorists or criminals."

The bomb disposal squad also reached the site to collect the evidence. According to their initial report, an improvised explosive device was placed inside a motorcycle. It was a uni-direction bomb and was triggered by a remote control. "The bomb weighed around five to six kilogrammes, including nut bolts and screws, and was hidden in the frame of the motorcycle," said a bomb disposal expert, who wished to remain anonymous. "There could have been massive losses if the bus was not moving."

The police investigators said the motorcycle used in the blast was registered to a policeman, Jamil, who was killed about three years ago in Baldia Town.

This is the second such incident to have occurred in nearly a year when, in February 2013, an explosives-laden vehicle targeted a police van soon after it left Razzakabad Police Training Centre to perform security duty at Bilawal House in Clifton. This attack had claimed the lives of 13 commandos and injured several others. In January, the District Malir police claimed to have killed two militants, who were allegedly involved in the previous attack on the SSU van.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2015.